2019 GMC Terrain

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My mom just got a new Terrain. Literally had it three days and went out to get in and go somewhere and the battery was so dead the doors wouldn't even unlock. She called GM and she got into the car with the emergency key that comes out of the fob but it was not starting or even clicking. GM sent a tow truck. The driver used a jump pack and it started immediately. She drove it straight to the dealer and they kept it and gave her a loaner Acadia.
I figured they would have found a bad battery or alternator or body module or something like that. She calls me this morning and says they found absolutely nothing wrong with anything and gave the Terrain back.
I would have felt a ton better if they found ANYTHING.

Aggravating part of this is Mom is in Florida and I'm in NY so now she's at the mercy of others. One strange thing is the clock is always an hour fast. She resets it and next time, it's an hour fast again. Anyone seen anything like this?
 
I'd have her take it to an AZ or AAP and have them test the battery. If it's low, get a print out and return to dealer.

I'd also have her check the VIN plate in the driver door jam for the production date. Maybe it sat on the lot for months on end and she hasn't driven it long enough to full restore the charge. I'd say a nice long drive on the highway is in order to really get the alternator pumping some juice.
 
Cool. Thanks.

The car was driven from Daytona to Naples to get to her. If the battery was any good, that trip should have been good. The dealer gave her a printout showing the battery was good.
Makes me nuts because I have my own Midtronics battery tester. I may ship it down to her to try.

I'm going down in April. I'm sure if there's a problem it's going to show up again before then.

Thanks for the link, BigD.
 
If it happens again, there is a good case to at a minimum get the battery replaced under warranty.
Feels like a bad cell, intermittent internal short or similar issue with the battery.
 
I figure if it happens again they will do something. One strike already on the battery/charging system, and next time two. Three times would be a qualifier under the Lemon Law.
 
It is not Unknown for the connection between cells under the battery cap to break, spot weld back and work for a while, only to break again later.

Rod
 
I have had the battery die overnight in my Forester 2 or 3 times. Nothing obvious was found left on. They happened many months apart. I am pretty sure something was left on but cannot find it. With many things on relays vs a switch its hard to find something left on after the battery dies and the relay disengages. .

My latest guess is the key was left in the off position in the ignition. And that has or does certain things unknown to me.

I half assume this is the reason I had to replace the battery sooner than I would have expected. Battery pulled to a dead battery is not good for the battery.

Given its a new car for your mom maybe there is something she left on without realizing it.

Given the expected temp for Thur morning, I would fly down to FL for a few days to evaluate the car (and warm up). Not return until the below 0F temps are over.
 
Well if you suspect the battery, just throw a battery charger on it to make sure it's fully charged.
 
being a new car there is a decent chance something was left on.

I wouldnt worry about it until 2-3x then start tracking it down.

I have seen loose battery cable as well.. but if they checked the battery they should have seen that.


Not the greatest new car experience, but I've had it twice, 2009 hyundai and a 2011 subaru.

The subaru had a bad switch for tailgate closed. Which made no sense because that circuit was turned off automatically after 20min of sitting(to prevent dead battery)

The hyundai the auto lights werent always auto shutting off. For example if you turned them off then back to auto when the car was off(but key in).. they would stay on.
 
Originally Posted by NYEngineer
Haha. I would love to go down there for a week or so.

Right now would be an awesome time to go, eh?!

I had the battery go flat in my truck once. No idea why--I didn't find anything left on. It will turn off interior lights if a door is left open for more than an hour, and the cig plugs are also gated too. I was worried that it damaged the battery but it's still going strong a couple years later (best battery I've ever had--it appears original, which makes it 9 years old!).
 
Did you ask for a printout of their diagnosis? What about the battery health report?

I bet they went out, started it, and were like yep, it's fine.
 
Maybe it's the ECU not going to sleep properly and it's a weird random glitch based on a series of events that have to happen in a certain sequence to trigger it and this kills the battery?
 
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an easy one to forget is the dome light. If it has a 3 position switch like mine does ...off-auto-on. In the daytime easy to hit it ON and exit the vehicle not seeing the light. next day it is dead, and dealer switched it back to auto and didn't find anything else.
 
My 09 Suburban shuts the dome lights off after a short time so the battery doesn't die. I know because whenever my wife uses my truck, the dome light always comes on when I start it. My old truck used to get a dead battery from that.

Mom's had the Terrain back for a few days now and so far, so good. I'll post here if it does it again.
 
We may have solved this. The car has been back and trouble free so far since the day the dealer gave it back. I do not have any cars with pushbutton start so I'm not familiar with any of the goofy stuff associated with the fobs and whatnot.
Anyway, I was talking with a friend who was telling me he did not step on the brake in his Kia when he turned the engine off with the button and the car went into accessory mode. The next morning when he came out, the battery was stone dead. I called mom and asked her about shutting her car off and she said sometimes it does this and sometimes it does that. I suggested reading the owner's manual and seeing what the proper procedure is and also seeing if the car will stay "awake" if she keeps the fob too close to the parked car. Where she lives, if the car is parked in the spot right in front of her door and the key is right inside the door, it could be close enough.
I'll be due for a new truck when my youngest starts driving in a couple of years. I hope I'll be able to get a Suburban that acts like a regular car. I'm gettin' old and don't need all of this.
 
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